Canadian channel Showcase has ordered a fifth season of the very gay inclusive Lost Girl. That should make it easier for Syfy to continue airing it stateside.

Ellen Burstyn has joined the cast of the NBC comedy pilot Old Soul, which stars Natasha Lyonne as a woman running a nursing home. Burstyn will play Lyonne’s aunt, a lesbian cancer survivor.

The New York Daily News claims that CNN doesn’t know who will take over Piers Morgan’s soon-to-be-vacated time slot but the channel’s top choice is Rosie O’Donnell. Joy Behar, Ann Curry, Star Jones and Rachel Maddow are also on CNN’s list. That’s like a Bernie Bott’s Every Flavor Bean assortment of people who know how to host a talk show.

The Hollywood Reporter says that the cast of Happy Endings are the “hottest get” of the current pilot season. At this point, the only cast members who aren’t committed to a pilot are Adam Pally and Damon Wayans Jr, who are regulars in current series. However, pilots are trying to lure them, too.

The Philippines is getting its own version of Pretty Little Liars. I hope the Filipino version of Aria has a few more IQ points.

The CW’s Supernatural spin-off pilot Tribes has added another Vampire Diaries alum, according to E!. Stephen Martines (he was one of Pearl’s group) has been picked to play a world-weary cop who is aware of the monster families that rule Chicago.

Stephen Martines

Sadly, the immediate ratings for The Americansweren’t great (matching the first season’s average ratings), considering how a season premiere ratings usually are one of the season’s ratings high points. On the other hand, the first season of The Americans was heavily watched later on DVRs. Meanwhile, the ratings for Mixology’s debut were as disappointing as its reviews were disparaging.

TVLine asks if ABC’s move to split the current season for Once Upon a Time, Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy, where they take the shows off the air for a time instead of airing repeats, has helped ratings.

Friday’s Listings

Grimm (NBC) 9:00 PM ET
Before Grimm headed into its Olympic hiatus, it ended with a wesen version of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner as Monroe’s traditional blutbad parents find out their son has a fuchsbau finacee and a grimm for a best friend. Are Monroe’s parents the type to get violent over their traditional values? And how far will Grimm take the bigotry analogy?

“If not a blutbad, at least marry someone who has been in a werewolf movie like The Howling!”

Enlisted (Fox) 9:00 PM ETPete faces one of his past mistakes when an ex-girlfriend he wronged shows up. Instead of letting her know he would be deploying to Afghanistan, he just left and let her figure out why he wasn’t returning her calls anymore.

Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) 9:00 PM ET
The Five-0 team investigate the case of a realtor who was murdered and then left in the walls of one of the houses he was trying to sell. Clearly, it’s someone very focused on efficiency, someone should check where those organization experts that keep showing up on daytime TV were at the time of the murder.

Raising Hope (Fox) 9:30 PM ETMaw Maw’s got a new boyfriend (Tommy Chong), who leaves Virginia wanting to scream about the seniors these days with their music that isn’t really music but is just noise. Since that makes her feel like she’s getting old, she starts taking up some risky activities in hope of reclaiming her sense of youth.

Hannibal (NBC) 10:00 PM ET
The first season of Hannibal was an incredible challenge to how TV does horror. It was thrilling, sharply-plotted and compelling but it also demanded the viewer to ponder questions of mortality, sanity and the nature of good and evil. It was a series that smartly challenged the trope of the anti-hero serial killer, just as The Following was trying to charm the country with a new charming serial killer. The second season begins with Will suspected of being a killer while Hannibal is profiling criminals, which should be amazing on a show with Hannibal’s wit and intelligence.

Betty White’s Off Their Rockers (Lifetime) 10:00 PM ET
Gay icon Betty White has taken her hidden camera prank show to Lifetime. I hope she picks up the theme of the networks and finds a way to do a few Lifetime original movie-inspired pranks. I guess that might be more fitting for when a different hidden camera show, What Would You Do moves to Lifetime.

Late Night with Seth Meyers
The amazing duo of Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart are visiting Seth’s shiny new set.

Saturday’s Listings

Happy Face Killer (Lifetime) 8:00 PM ET
Lifetime’s latest true crime movie has David Arquette playing a serial killer who took to sending the media letters decorated with smiley faces when he wasn’t getting enough attention.

Ripper Street (BBC America) 9:0) PM ET
When a woman is murdered, the only clue to her identity is a vestigial tail. The Whitechapel team hopes they can figure out her identity with a trip to the circus freak show. Thankfully, the movie Freaks is a few decades away, reducing the chances they’ll face a solidarity movement. They will get to meet Joseph Merrick, A.K.A. the Elephant Man.

The World’s Oddest Animal Couples (Animal Planet) 9:00 PM ETGhostbusters tried to warn us that part of the apocalypse would be dogs and cats living together, but the internet decided that kind of thing was cute. Now, Animal Planet joins in to help encourage our slide into armageddon with this special.

The Graham Norton Show (BBC America) 10:00 PM ETGraham has an amazing line-up on tap for this week with Dominic Cooper, Miriam Margolyes and musical guest Lily Allen.

Sunday’s Listings

The Amazing Race (CBS) 8:0) PM ET
While I finish letting out a sigh of relief that we won’t have to hear screams from the twinees, the remaining racer’s face a leg called “Baby Bear’s Soup”. Does that mean a food challenge? I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle if its something made from actual baby bear.

The 86th Annual Academy Awards (ABC) 8:0 PM ET
It’s “the Gay Super Bowl” with Ellen DeGeneres returning as host. This year’s Best Song performers work to earn that title with Idina Menzel, Jill Sobule and Bette Midler on the performer list.

The Walking Dead (AMC) 9:00 PM ET
The survivors are still divided but someone is about to take on a “bizarre but enlightening” mission. AMC has a history of giving out cryptic episode descriptions but this one is more puzzling than usual.

Girls (HBO) 10:00 PM ET
We’re at the point in the season when Hannah heads back to Ohio where her grandmother is hospitalized. This will probably be a great time for Hannah to think about how her grandmother’s illness makes Hannah feel.

Looking (HBO) 10:30 PM ET
Maybe it’s a bit early for Patrick to introduce Richie to his family but sometimes you can’t get your sister to schedule your wedding around your love life. Besides, it turns out Richie cleans up really nicely so any worries about a pivotal introduction are tempered by the sight of Raul Castillo clean shaven and wearing a suit.